Let the Madness Begin
by The Devil's Favourite Demon
Summary: A pair of brothers that dominated the WWE in the past have once again joined forces, eager to show everybody they're still the best of the best. But things are different this time around and they know they can't do it all alone.
1. Chapter 01

**Chapter 01**

* * *

"How much longer?" Kaitlyn asked, as she went through her pre-match stretching routine.

AJ Lee, perched on top of a pile of equipment, shrugged. "Fifteen minute, maybe more. Come on, Kaitlyn, there's still a whole other match before yours." She slid off her seat and gestured down the hallway. "Let's go back to the locker room. I want to watch Dolph and Tyson beat the crap out of Cesaro and Swagger."

Kaitlyn just shook her head and kept on stretching. "Nope. I like it better here. I need to be focused for this match. Who knows when I'll get another shot at the title."

"No kidding," AJ replied, leaning back against the wall. "If Layla had her way, she'd never defend that title again. Just walk around with it over her arm, like some kind of decoration. Bitch." It was hard to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

From her position on the floor, Kaitlyn shot her friend a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, AJ. You'll get a title shot eventually. Layla can't block you out forever."

AJ didn't bother responding to that. Both Divas knew the truth: as long as Layla was champion, she wouldn't be getting a title shot. As soon as she became champion, Layla had gone to WWE's Board of Directors and officially had AJ barred from title contention. She told them that due to AJ's "history of mental instability", she didn't feel safe working with her. She'd used just enough tears and shown just the right video to the Board for them to side with her. The appeal process was taking forever, and AJ knew if she was going to get a title shot anytime remotely soon, it was going to have to be against a new champion.

But for the moment, AJ put that out of mind and pasted a wide smile on her face. This was her best friend's moment, Kaitlyn's time to shine. Her own frustration could wait. "All right. You've got this! You're going to smash that tramp's face in!" She continued to spout out motivational things Kaitlyn as the other Diva kept preparing for her match. "The new Divas champion, Kaitlyn! How does that sound?"

Before the blonde Diva could reply, somebody else spoke. "Kaitlyn!" Antonio Cesaro boomed, as he came around the far corner. He made his way over to her, completely ignoring AJ. "You're looking beautiful tonight."

AJ rolled her eyes at the man's overly cheerful tone. He'd taken a liking to Kaitlyn over the last few weeks, despite the fact she was already in a relationship with Christian, and had been popping up everywhere she went. That had been part of the reason Kaitlyn wanted to prepare in the hallway and not the locker-room. He'd shown up in the women's locker-room on RAW the previous week and had tried to convince her to go to dinner with him after his match.

"Don't you have a match right now?" Kaitlyn asked, as she rose to her feet. She caught AJ's gaze as she spoke and both Divas rolled their eyes.

Antonio waved off her question without hesitation. "We were just on our way to the ring." Out of the corner of her eye, AJ spotted Jack Swagger, his partner, lurking around the corner. "It shall be an easy win. Perhaps after, you would like to join me for some dinner. We could… celebrate."

"In your dreams," Kaitlyn replied. "Just leave me alone. I'm not interested."

"Oh, come on, Kaitlyn. We would be great together." As he spoke, he moved closer and closer to Kaitlyn. She kept backing away until he pinned against the wall and loomed over her.

"All right, enough of that," AJ said, forcing her way in between the two of them. She put both hands on Antonio's stomach and pushed until the man was forced to take a step back. She followed him forward, glaring up into his face. "What part of 'leave me alone' don't you understand? She already has a boyfriend, and even if she didn't, why would she ever want anything to do with you? Why don't you just take your creepy ass to the ring so Dolph and Tyson can beat some of the stupid out of you?"

Antonio took a step back and brought his arms up protectively in front of him. "Oh no," he said, lips curling up in a sneer, "don't hurt me, crazy little AJ. Tell me, how is the appeal coming? Should we be expecting a title shot for you soon?"

At his mocking words, AJ saw red. With a shriek, she hurled herself at him and began throwing punches and open-hand slaps at his face. Her attack caught him off-guard and he took a couple good shots before he managed to grab her shoulders and shove her away. The reprieve was short-lived and she came forward immediately, screaming incoherently and still aiming for his face. He tried to back down the hallway, but she stuck with him.

Lost in her rage, AJ didn't realise somebody else had arrived until large hands clamped around her shoulders and gently pushed her to the side. She bumped up against the wall and the contact broke her out of her episode. The Big Show had taken her place in front of Antonio and was glaring at him angrily. "What did Christian tell you, Cesaro?" He and Christian had been friends for years. "Stay the hell away from Kaitlyn! Stay the hell away from everybody!"

After being attacked by a woman, Antonio's pride was injured. There was no way he was backing down again, regardless of how big his opponent was. Stepping forward, he tried to shove Show back. The big man took a half-step back and froze, nostrils flared. From where she was standing, AJ had a clear view of his eyes. She saw what was coming in them an instant before it happened and could only watch as he balled up his fist and drilled it directly into Antonio's face. The Swiss Sensation crumpled to the ground immediately, out cold from the vicious shot.

There was a moment of inactivity after that. Big Show stood over Antonio, glaring down at his fallen form. The two Divas just looked at each other with wide eyes. Then somebody let out a yell and a large form collided with the Big Show.

In the excitement, everybody had forgotten Jack Swagger was just around the corner. Though not nearly as massive as Show, he was still a really big guy, and he had the element of surprise on his side. His tackle caught Show completely off-guard and drove him back down the hallway. Show let out a roar and began to rain down fists on Swagger's back, but the smaller Superstar refused to let go. He kept pushing down the hall they reached another corner and the Big Show's back hit the wall. As he made to stand up, Show wrapped both arms around his torso and hurled him around the corner. Even before Swagger hit the ground, Show followed him.

"Crap," Kaitlyn said, staring at the corner the two had disappeared around. Then she turned to stare at Cesaro's unconscious body. "He doesn't look very good." She stuck out her foot and prodded his ribs lightly. "Should we… I mean, should we help him? Or call somebody maybe?" she asked hesitantly.

AJ looked down at him for a second. Then, "Nope." Without another word, she turned and ran after the Big Show and Swagger. However that ended, it was bound to be a lot more interesting than waiting around with Cesaro.

By the time the two Divas caught up with the brawling Superstars, they were almost back at the locker-room area. They stopped by a table with a coffee machine on it and watched as Big Show lifted Swagger off his feet and slammed him into a wall. When he let go and stepped away, Swagger fell to his knees, leaving a massive dent where he'd collided with the drywall. But instead of staying down, he struggled back to his feet and threw himself at Big Show once again. This time, Show was ready for it. He caught Swagger in mid-air, turned, and sent him rolling across the floor toward the men's locker-room.

In a moment of perfect timing, Randy Orton stepped out of the locker-room just as Swagger was careening toward it. He collided with the Viper and both men hit the floor hard. Swagger smacked his forehead on the floor and rolled to the side, groaning and clutching at the injured area. Everybody else froze, eagerly anticipating how the notoriously temperamental Superstar was going to react.

They didn't have to wait long. As AJ looked on with an appreciative grin on her face, Orton rose to his feet and glared down at Swagger. Before anybody could react, he took a couple steps back, then delivered a vicious punt kick to the fallen Superstar's head. Swagger saw the attack coming at the last second and tried to dodge, but he was too slow.

At that moment, pandemonium broke out as other Superstars and Divas arrived on the scene. People were shouting and screaming as somebody grabbed Randy and dragged him away. A couple people in striped shirts bent to check on Swagger, who was out cold and covered in blood, his forehead having been split open by the punt kick.

"Well," AJ said to Kaitlyn quietly, as the pair stepped back from the chaos. "That was fun. Did you see Swagger's face when he saw Randy's foot coming?" She let out a little giggle. "Priceless."

Kaitlyn cocked an eyebrow at her friend. "You're entirely too blood-thirsty sometimes, AJ."

"Whatever," AJ replied, dismissing the other Diva's words with a little wave of her hand. "You can't tell me the Real Americans didn't have it coming. Maybe Cesaro will leave you now. Wouldn't that be nice?"

After a moment's hesitation, Kaitlyn's face split open in a wide grin. "Yeah, that would be good. Forget about him constantly hitting on me; I'd just be happy if he stayed far enough away that I couldn't smell his cologne anymore. I think he bathes in it." The two shared a laugh then as they watched the chaotic scene before them. "Hey," Kaitlyn said suddenly, "what do you think is going to happen with their match?"

AJ shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they'll just cancel it." She looked around at all the people around them. "How many tag teams are going to agree to a match two minutes before it's supposed to start? Even if it is for the titles?"

* * *

As the backstage brawl was going down, Dolph Ziggler and Tyson Kidd were in the ring, waiting for their match to start. The champs had been preparing for their title defense all week and were eager to get things started. But as time went on and the Real Americans remained in the back, both began wondering what was going on. The pair shared a look, and then both looked to their manager, Natalya, who shrugged in response.

At the announcer's table, Michael Cole was losing his mind. "I'm so sorry, folks, but I'm not being told anything. The Real American's should be here. As far as I know, this match is still scheduled to happen."

Finally, the champion's entrance music faded away and somebody appeared at the top of the ramp. The crowd immediately started booing, but that too faded away when everybody realised it wasn't Cesaro or Swagger but rather Brad Maddox, RAW General Manager.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Maddox began, directing his voice to the two men in the ring, "but due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight's WWE Tag Team Championship match has been cancelled." Another chorus of boos started up, even as Dolph and Tyson looked at each other in confusion. "Congratulations, champs. You guys get a pass tonight. Enjoy the night." Then he turned to head back through the curtain.

Before Maddox could disappear, Dolph motioned for Natalya to toss him a microphone. "Woah, woah, woah," he said. "Just wait one minute, Maddox." The GM paused in his step and turned to look back at the ring. "The champs don't take nights off. We came here tonight to defend these titles." He held up his own belt and Tyson mirrored his action on the other side of the ring. "And we're damn well going to do that! These people want to see a match and we're not going to be the ones to disappoint them!" The crowd popped loudly at that.

"All right," Maddox said, turning to fully face the ring. "But how are you going to do that. The Real Americans are not going to be competing tonight. Both of them are on their way to—"

"I don't care what's up with those two bigoted idiots," Dolph stated. "We're extending an open invitation to any tag team in that back." He held up his title again. "Anybody back there who thinks they're man enough to take on the champs, come on down and get some."

For a moment, there was nothing. Everybody was watching the Titantron with bated breath, wondering who was going to rise to the challenge. "Come on," Dolph said. "Anybody. We don't care how bad you think you are, how big you are, or—"

He cut off abruptly when every light in the arena suddenly cut off. There was a brief second of stunned silence from everybody in the arena. Then a familiar gong sounded and the place exploded. A massive explosion of fire from the top of the ramp lit up the entire building, illuminating both champions as they stared, slack-jawed, at the stage. But everybody's attention was on the stage as two massive forms slowly appeared, appearing out of the smoke and fog. Brad Maddox backed as far away from them as the stage would allow and tried not to draw their attention as they passed him by.

As the crowd cheered continuously, Michael Cole was once again going insane on commentary. "Oh my God! It's the Undertaker! It's Kane! Neither man has been seen in the WWE in months! But they're here tonight! And it looks like the Brothers of Destruction have their targets set on the WWE Tag Team Championships!"

The cheering never let up as the pair made their way slowly down the ramp. When they reached the ring, Kane waited for his brother to ascend the stairs before grasped the top rope and pulling himself into the ring. The champs had already retreated to the far side of the ring and looked on as the music faded away and the lights came back on.

For a minute, nobody in the ring moved. The brothers stared at the champions unblinking, Kane from behind his mask and Undertaker from underneath the brim of his black hat. The crowd was still going wild, excited beyond belief for the unexpected return.

"Well," Brad Maddox said suddenly, his voice drawing the attention of the fans and the champions, "there you go. You wanted a challenge. Good luck." Then he disappeared through the curtain before anything else could happen.

Back in the ring, the Undertaker had moved toward the corner. Kane stepped toward the center of the ring even as his brother stepped through the ropes and took up the usual tag partner position. He didn't even bother removing his hat or long leather coat. A referee slid into the ring as Dolph and Tyson argued over who was going to start the match. After a moment, Tyson stepped out of the ring and the ref motioned for the match to start.

As soon as the bell rang, Kane began to circle to his right. Dolph matched him step for step, never taking his eyes off the Big Red Machine. Something told him his opponent was up to something. Unfortunately for Dolph, he didn't realise what it was until it was too late. When Kane suddenly lunged forward, he instinctively stepped back. Focused as he was on Kane, he wasn't aware of where he was in the ring. His step back put him in reach of the Undertaker, who reached over the ropes and clamped supernaturally strong hands around his shoulders. Even as Dolph struggled to break free, Kane turned and delivered a big boot to the face of Tyson Kidd, sending the tag team champion crashing off the ring apron to the ground below.

"Damn it!" Dolph screamed, still trying to pull free of the Undertaker's grasp.

Without warning, the Undertaker suddenly released him and gave him a hard shove forward. Dolph stumbled into the center of the ring, propelled forward by the force of the push, and right into Kane. Kane wrapped one massive hand around his throat, and before Dolph could do a thing, he was crashing to the canvas on the receiving end of a powerful chokeslam. Stunned by the impact, he could only blink and gasp as Kane dropped down next to him and pinned him. He felt the vibrations as the ref counted the three count, but could only roll over onto his side and curl up in the fetal position as the bell rang again.

"Winners, and your new WWE Tag Team Champions: Kane and the Undertaker!"

As Kane went to retrieve the belts, the Undertaker moved to the center of the ring and stood over Dolph's fallen form. When Kane tossed him a microphone, the crowd popped big. Once his brother handed him a belt, the two posed for a second, titles held high. As the crowd cheered, he lifted the microphone to his mouth, waited a second for silence to fall, and said, "Change is coming." Then the lights went out. They were only off for a second or two, but when they came back on, the new champs were gone.

"Well, folks, there you have it," Michael Cole said. "The Brothers of Destruction are back and in possession of the Tag Team Championships once again. And you heard the Undertaker: Change is coming. I don't know what that means, but hopefully tomorrow night on RAW a little light will be shed on this situation."

* * *

"Holy crap," Kaitlyn breathed, eyes glued to the monitor in the Divas locker-room.

AJ, her own eyes wide, nodded. "You can say that again."

Nobody had been expecting the return of Kane or the Undertaker, especially not together. Almost everybody had still been out in the hallway when the lights went out, and as soon as they realised what was going on, they'd all headed for TVs to watch. AJ and Kaitlyn had commandeered the main screen in the locker-room and watched in silence as the brothers dominated Dolph and Tyson and won the Championships.

"What do you think?" Kaitlyn turned to AJ as the program cut to commercial. "What change is he talking about?"

"No idea," AJ replied. "But I think it's a good thing. It's hard to imagine things getting too dull around here with those two running around. I think things are about to pick up. But that doesn't matter right now." She reached out and grabbed her friend's shoulders. "You've got a match now. All that matters is you beating the crap out of Layla and taking the Divas Championship away from her. Right?" Kaitlyn, face set in a serious expression, nodded. "You're going to win! No, you're going to dominate!" AJ shook her once, staring intently into her eyes. "You're going to break her ugly face!"

Psyched up by her friend's words, Kaitlyn nodded and grinned. "Yeah! Let's do this!" With nothing but the upcoming match on their minds, the two Divas headed for the ring.


	2. Chapter 02

**Chapter 02**

* * *

The next night found AJ in a bad mood. RAW was playing on a small monitor on the table next to her, but she wasn't really watching. Most of her attention was focused inward, on the memories of the championship match from the previous night.

Things had started off well enough. Layla had completely ignored her as she got in the ring, but AJ had been expecting that. The champion needed to focus on Kaitlyn. For the first couple minutes of the match, things went according to plan. Kaitlyn was the stronger of the two Divas, and she hit a couple of high-impact moves that had the crowd cheering. But then things turned. While AJ was focused on her friend, the Bella twins came out of the crowd and attacked her from behind. She went down hard, taken by surprise. When the referee left the ring to break things up, one of the Bellas slipped Layla her Championship belt. She smashed Kaitlyn in the face with it and knocked her out. As soon as the ref got back in the ring, it was one-two-three and the match was over.

That wasn't the end of it. Layla and her two friends couldn't resist talking trash after the match. Kaitlyn was still out cold, so AJ got the worst of it. She'd hit her head on the ground during the initial attack and was still a little dazed, so all she could do was lie there on the mat and take it.

Needless to say, by the time she and Kaitlyn were helped to the back, AJ was ready to kill. But Layla was smart enough to realise what was coming her way and had left the arena immediately after the match. As angry as she was, AJ almost followed the cheating champ to her hotel. But good sense won out and she ended up accompanying Kaitlyn to the hospital instead.

On the positive side of things, Kaitlyn was only diagnosed with a mild concussion. She wasn't going to miss any serious time. A couple of days at the most.

Unfortunately, without Kaitlyn around, there was nobody to distract AJ from her thoughts. So she sat in the locker-room and fumed, anger and frustration warring in her head. Several Divas came in and out of the room while she sat there, but they all stayed clear of her. They'd all been watching the previous night. They knew what had gone down, and all of them were smart enough to know it was better to leave her alone for the night.

Or most of them.

"How's the head, crazy?"

It was impossible to mistake that accent. AJ stood up and whipped around so fast she sent her chair skidding into the table. Teeth bared, she glared at Layla. The Divas champ smiled back smugly, title slung casually over her shoulder.

"I just wanted to drop in and say hello," the English Diva said, "see how you're holding up. That was quite a bump you took last night. Not as hard as the one your little friend took, I'll admit. I think her hard head might have dented it, actually. Here, look." Without breaking eye contact with AJ, she ran her hand lightly over the face of the belt. Unable to help herself, AJ's eyes darted to the title. "You had better enjoy this, crazy. This is the closest you'll be getting to this Championship for a very long time."

Those were the magic words. "Bitch!" AJ screamed as she lunged at Layla. The Divas champion's eyes widened but before she could dodge, AJ was on her. She hit her low, driving a shoulder deep into her guy. The force of the tackle drove Layla backwards toward the open door. Her heel caught on the doorjamb as she went through the doorway and she fell backwards with a shriek, dropping the title as she fell. AJ immediately jumped on top of her and began raining down blows on her head, cursing and screaming in rage as she did.

A couple of Superstars, including the Shield, were standing in the hallway, waiting for their matches. All of them turned when the two Divas came through the doorway and brawled on the floor.

"Jesus," Roman Reigns said, as AJ smashed away at Layla's face. "Can we go one night without somebody beating the crap out of somebody else back here?"

Dean Ambrose let out a snort as Seth Rollins shook his head and said, "Where would the fun be in that?" All three men winced as AJ reared up and drove her elbow down into Layla's nose, drawing a shriek of pain from the Divas champion. "Shit." He held out his hand. "Rock-paper-scissors. Loser has to break them up."

Roman rolled his eyes and jogged over to the two women. AJ was still on top, so moved around behind her and grabbed her around the waist as quickly as he could. He was expecting to catch an elbow or fist to the head with the way she was going at Layla, but his timing was just right. With some effort, he managed to separate the two, lifting AJ clear off the champ and turning to put himself between the two of them. "Come on, ladies," he said, struggling to keep AJ from breaking free. "Break it up. This isn't the place."

"Let me go!" AJ screamed, clawing at his exposed arms in an attempt to loosen the grip he had around her waist. "I'm gonna kill her! Let me go!"

Before Roman could say anything, he felt something go by his face. A split second later, AJ let out a shrill shriek as Layla's hand tangled in her hair and yanked. "A little fucking help would be nice here, guys!" he shouted, as he bent forward and tried to use his body to push Layla away. He knew he couldn't let go of AJ because she'd go back to trying to murder Layla the second she was free. He was having a hard enough time just keeping her from wriggling free, even as she tried to pull her hair free from Layla's hand. Having Layla screaming in his ear wasn't helping any either.

Finally, one of the other guys grabbed the English Diva and dragged her away. "Get her out of here! And take the damn belt with you!" he commanded, not even bothering to turn and see who had come to his aide. He waited until Layla's shouts faded away before he relaxed his grip on AJ and stepped back.

The second she felt the arms around her disappear, AJ whirled around and lashed out with her foot. If Roman hadn't taken that step back, she would have nailed him right below the belt. Fortunately for him, she missed and he immediately took another step away. "Calm down," he said slowly, hands up, palms toward her. "She's gone. It's all good. No need to get violent."

For a second, AJ just stared at him, face flushed and breathing labored. He could see the anger in her eyes and was very careful to not make any sudden movements. It took a minute, but slowly the rage bled out of her. She glared at him for a second longer, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She just stood there for another moment, frozen, with her eyes closed.

Roman hesitated for a second before he broke the silence. "You okay?" Even as he asked the question, he tensed, ready to jump back if the notoriously unstable Diva lost it again.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I'm okay." Slowly, she brought up one hand and touched a finger to a small gash Layla had opened over her eye. The finger came away covered in blood and she opened her eyes to study it. As Roman looked on with wide eyes, AJ began to laugh, gaze locked on her own blood. Without another word, she turned and made her way back into the Divas locker-room, laughing merrily as she went. After she passed through the door, she slammed it shut behind her.

"Wow," somebody said, coming up behind Roman and throwing an arm over his shoulder. He turned his head and was met by Dean Ambrose's grinning face. "She really is crazy."

"Uh huh." Roman stared at the closed door for a second. "I think they're both crazy." He shook his head. "I wouldn't want to—" He cut off as the all the lights in the hallway suddenly died. "Ah, great. What now?"

* * *

When the lights came back on in the arena, Kane and the Undertaker were standing in the center of the ring, titles hanging over their shoulders. The crowd had popped big the second the lights went out, but when they spotted the brothers standing there, they got even louder.

Kane gestured for a microphone and one of the camera guys tossed it to him. "Last night," he began, before the crowd could fall silent, "my brother and I made our return to the WWE. And we did what we do best. We destroyed. We conquered. We dominated." He paused as the crowd popped again. "But these belts are just the beginning. We're not going to stop until everybody has felt our wrath. Everybody will feel the pain, the burn of true agony before we're done."

The Undertaker held out his hand then and Kane passed him the microphone. "Once, not so long ago, we were the dominant force in the WWE. The Brothers of Destruction." He paused and looked toward the Titantron. "I've been watching and once again, our time has come. Everybody in the back seems to have forgotten about us. That was a mistake," he said in his deep voice, very slowly and carefully pronouncing each word. "We are and always will be dominant. And if anybody in the back has an issue with that, or doesn't believe it… they will rest… in… peace."

The crowd roared at that, but before either brother could say anything more, Dolph Ziggler's music started up. Everybody turned toward the stage as Dolph and Tyson Kidd stepped through the curtain. Dolph had a microphone in his hand, and immediately motioned for the music to cut off.

"Stop the music! Stop it!" As soon as it turned off, he pointed to the tag team champs. "I don't give a rat's ass who you two are! The Undertaker! Kane! I'm shaking in my boots!" He gave a mock full-body shiver, then snorted. "You caught us off-guard last night, I'll admit. But we're the rightful champions, and we won't lose again. Tyson and me," he said, jerking a thumb back toward his partner, "want a rematch. Next week on RAW, the Brothers of Destruction versus Tyson Kidd and the Show-off with the WWE Tag Team Championships on the line!" He paused for dramatic effect, before screaming, "In a steel cage!"

Even as the crowd voiced their approval, Kane and the Undertaker looked at each other. Not a word was said, but to the people sitting ringside, it seemed like the two shared some kind of internal conversation. Without a word, the Undertaker handed the microphone to his brother and stepped back.

"You want a rematch? In a steel cage?" the Big Red Machine asked, a note of surprise in his voice. Dolph and Tyson both nodded emphatically from the stage. "It's your funeral. We accept." Dolph brought up his microphone, about to respond, but Kane cut him off with a raised hand. "But we don't like to wait. Obviously there's no cage here tonight. But we don't want to wait until next week. Friday. Smackdown. Be there and be ready. We're going to bring hell with us."

Before either of the former champs could say a word, Kane raised his arms, then brought them crashing down. Fire exploded from all four ring posts and the stage, driving Dolph and Tyson back through the curtain. As the fire slowly faded away, Kane's music began to play. Both brothers raised their titles high as the roar of the crowd washed through the arena.

* * *

"Crap," AJ said as she stared at her face in the mirror. She hadn't really felt them earlier, immediately after the fight or when she returned to the locker-room. But now the adrenaline was almost gone and the pain from the number of small cuts on her face was setting in. The largest was the one on her forehead by far, but there were a couple of smaller ones under each eye and on the bridge of her nose as well. Probably from Layla's nails.

After dampening a piece of paper towel, she went about trying to wash the worst of the blood away. It took a few minutes, but eventually she was satisfied with her efforts. The cuts were still stinging a bit, but she didn't mind a little pain. Especially when it came with the satisfaction of knowing she'd given it back to Layla just as hard as she'd taken it.

In the mirror, AJ watched a wide smile split her face. She knew there would be repercussions to her actions, but right then, she couldn't care less. She'd finally gotten her hands on the bitch who had been making her life hell for months and if felt great.

As she thought about the fight, about how she'd really laid into Layla and beat the champion down, AJ felt her heart rate starting to sky-rocket again. "Wait, wait," she said to herself, after taking a few deep, calming breaths. "Save it. She's not here right now. Save it for next time you see her smug little trampy face." It took another minute and a few more deep breaths, but eventually she felt her pulse return to normal.

With that taken care of, AJ figured it might be a good idea to check the TV and see what was going on. Even in her earlier state, she'd recognised the blip in the lighting for what it was. Even with all that had been going on, she was curious as to what the Undertaker and Kane were up to. She could hear Kane's music playing in the arena, so she assumed they must have done something. Without further pause, she headed back out into the main area of the locker-room and made her way over to the small screen she'd been watching earlier.

She was halfway to the table when the locker-room door flew open and banged hard off the wall. AJ turned toward the door, just as Antonio Cesaro stormed in. Under the heavy bruise that dominated the entire left side of his face, he was glaring at her, mouth set in a hard line.

"You little bitch!" he spat, before she could say a word. He pointed at his bruised face. "This is your fault! If you had just kept your damn mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened! My partner wouldn't be in the hospital with a cracked skull! I'd be a WWE Tag Team Champion right now!" With each statement, he took a step closer to her, anger radiating from every inch of him. AJ tried to match his steps, keep some distance between them, but his was so much taller than her. By the time her back bumped against the wall, he was looming over her, breathing heavily and looking angry enough to kill.

With Cesaro looming over her, AJ couldn't see the door. But as she tensed, readying herself to attack, she heard it swing open. Lost in his rage, Cesaro didn't. But he did hear when somebody cleared their throat behind him. Cesaro whirled around, ready to lay into whoever dared interrupt him. He stopped short when he realised who it was.

"You need to leave." Kane stared at Cesaro, unblinking and standing side by side with his brother. He brought up a hand and made a fist. "Now."

Cesaro stayed rooted to the floor for a second, just staring at the brothers. AJ couldn't see his face, but from the way his back had just gone completely white, she had to imagine his expression was pretty comical. When the Undertaker suddenly stepped to the side, Cesaro started violently and started bringing his hands up, ready to defend himself. But the Deadman simply stopped and gestured toward the door. Cesaro hesitated for another second, then took a step toward the door. "We'll finish this next week," he muttered, shooting a glare back at AJ over his shoulder.

"No," Kane said, "you won't." Then he planted one massive boot firmly on Cesaro's ass and shoved him out the open door. The Undertaker closed the door behind him. Then both brothers turned to face AJ.

As she stood there, back pressed against the wall, pinned by the gazes of both men, AJ wasn't sure what to do. She'd been alone with Kane in the past, but that had been on her terms. She'd never even met the Undertaker in person before. Both men were very physically intimidating, dwarfing her by nearly two feet. She'd seen both do insane, impossible feats, conjuring fire and appearing out of thin air. But she'd be damned if she was going to act like a scared little girl, regardless of what they wanted. She didn't back down from anybody. With that in mind, she straightened up and locked eyes with Kane.

The Big Red Machine eyed her challenging pose for a second, then inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. "AJ," he said, deep voice echoing through the nearly empty locker-room. "We need to talk."


	3. Chapter 03

**Chapter 03**

* * *

Confronted by a nerve-wracking situation, one that made her more than a little uncomfortable, AJ fell back onto old habits. Tilting her head slightly to one side, she smiled cheerfully up at Kane and asked, "What about?"

"An opportunity," he replied, eyes locked on hers.

She wasn't expecting that. But she wasn't giving anything away yet. "What kind of opportunity?" The smile never left her face as she tilted her head to the other side.

Kane was silent for a moment, almost like he was choosing his words. Then he raised a hand and gestured to the Undertaker. "My brother and I," he said, speaking slowly, "are feared here in the WWE. We always have been, since the very beginning. That never has and never will change." Then he paused and dropped his hand. "But things aren't the way they used to be. There is a lack of… recognition of what we're still capable of." His voice dropped slightly, further deepening. "We're going to change that."

AJ felt a shiver go down her spine at that. There was something in his eyes, an intensity, or maybe passion that really got to her. Rattled as she was, it took her a second to realise he was waiting for her to say something. "What does that have to do with me?" she managed to get out, voice barely more than a whisper.

"As good as we are, we can't do everything. There are places we can't go, things we can't focus on when we're concentrating on something else." Kane shrugged. "Two people can't be everywhere at once."

As AJ opened her mouth to respond to that, the Undertaker suddenly spoke. "We became what we are by destroying everybody and everything they put in front of us." His voice had a hollow, ringing quality to it that Kane's lacked. "We were always hungry, always ready to take on everybody. We wanted to prove we were the dominant force in the WWE." He inhaled deeply and took a step closer. "We've been watching the current roster. There are… several people who have those same qualities. People who have the potential to be the best."

With the gap between them narrowed, AJ could feel the cold flowing off the Undertaker. She shrank back reflexively, all of her sense screaming at her to run. For a second, she briefly considered making a break for it. But with Kane standing right in front of her, she knew that wasn't going to happen.

Before she could do something drastic or stupid, Kane spoke again, drawing her attention back to him. "The business has changed. Too many rules. Too many restrictions. Too much interference from outsiders who just don't understand. They hold back people like us, people who would rise to the top if they could get a break." He gestured to the Undertaker again. "That's what we want to do."

For a second, AJ stood there, speechless. She wasn't expecting any of that. "Wait a minute," she gasped out. "You want to help people? That's what you're here for? You two? The Deadman and the Devil's Favourite Demon?"

Kane shared a look with his brother, then sighed heavily. "We're here to do a lot of things. Everything we do has more reasons than anybody else could ever imagine. But yes, we want to help people. And," he continued, raising his voice slightly and stalling her response with a raised hand, "by helping them, ultimately help ourselves."

Faced by the words and idea she hadn't expected, the majority of AJ's nervousness had disappeared. "How is that?" she asked, unconsciously leaning closer to Kane, a questioning expression on her face.

"Does it matter?" he asked, never breaking eye contact. "We all have our personal motivations for why we do the things we do. As long as it helps you, do you really care why else we're doing it?" Reaching out, he spread one hand wide and held it over her stomach. She tensed and straightened up, but he stopped several inches away from her flesh. From that close, she could feel the warmth radiating from his gloved hand. For a brief second, she wondered at the phenomenon, completely opposite to that of his brother. "Why aren't you the top Diva right now?"

Her jaw dropped at that. "I am the top Diva!" She was insulted, to say the least. She drew money. She kicked ass. She knew it and everybody else knew it. Just because Layla had found a way to legally screw her over didn't mean she wasn't the best.

"Really?" He moved his hand an inch closer and she felt goose bumps start to form on the exposed skin of her stomach. "Then shouldn't there be a championship wrapped around here?"

AJ recoiled like she'd been slapped. "You... I…" She trailed off into silence, the sudden rage coursing through her choking her up. "You know why," she eventually grated out through tightly clenched teeth. "Layla went crying to the Board of Directors! I'm not allowed to compete for the title! It's got nothing to do with me as a person or a competitor! It's all her and her stupid legal crap!"

In the face of her rage, Kane just smiled as he slowly pulled his hand back. "And that is the point." She took a half-step toward him, fired up and ready to rip into him, but he stopped her short with his next words. "You are the best Diva in this company. I've seen you do things in the ring that none of the others can do. You deserve to have the title, to be recognised as the very top of the pile in your division. I can see it. My brother can see it." The Undertaker nodded once. "The fans can see it. More importantly, Layla can see it. And she can also see what we see. That there is too much… opportunity for people who have no idea what it's really like here to interfere, to force their rules on us. She used it to her advantage." He paused and ran his eyes down from her face to her feet and back again. "And now look at you. Held back. Restricted. No room to grow, to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are… the Diva."

The Undertaker picked things up from there. "We've watched you these last few months. You're a fighter who has beaten everybody you've faced. You are fearless. Some might mentally unstable." Kane cleared his throat at that and AJ was sure she saw a tiny smirk flash across the Deadman's face for the briefest of seconds. "You're not allowed to compete for the title right now. They have leverage on you, forcing you to play the game their way. But what if there were no rules? What if everything else was equal. Your potential for… destruction is great."

It took a moment for AJ to respond to that. She wasn't quite sure what to say. Kane's praise had completely pulled the rug out from under her. All that rage she'd been feeling only moments before was abruptly gone, replaced by a strange mixture of pride, happiness, and confusion. "Okay," she finally said, drawing the word out as she tried to figure out where she was going. "Thanks, I guess. Glad to know somebody else sees it. Uh…" She paused, searching for the right words, the right question. "What are you guys doing here?" she settled on after a moment, tired of beating around the bush. "What do you want? Really?"

Kane was silent for a moment. He just stared at her, never blinking or moving. She wasn't even sure he was breathing. Then, "It's simple. The Brothers of Destruction. The most dominant force the WWE has ever seen. Death. Pain. Fire. Lightning. Darkness." He pointed to his brother. "The Undertaker." Back to himself. "Kane…." He trailed off, even as he lifted his hand again and pointed to her. "We're looking to add a few more names to that list. Yours is one of them."

"So, like an alliance?"

"Yes. It's time for everybody in this business to be reminded what it's like to come up against an unstoppable force. Fear and pain and rage are things that have been sadly lacking around here lately. We'd like to bring a little more of that back into the picture. And we'd like if you and a few others gave us a hand. We have a long reach and a lot of… influence over things that you and other don't have. We can even the playing field. We can remove the restraints and set everybody free. And we can watch as that freedom burns everybody else to the ground."

"Wow," she breathed, a little overwhelmed suddenly. To give herself a little extra time to process, she asked, "Who else?"

The Undertaker answered before Kane could. "That doesn't matter right now. What matters is your answer. Are you with us… or not?"

"Well, uh, I don't…" That was a lot to lay on somebody all at once. AJ was still trying to get everything to line up in her mind. She had questions, so many question. Why were they doing it? Why did they want to bring others into the fold? The Brothers of Destruction of old never needed outside help, so what was up? Was there some angle she wasn't seeing, something they were keeping hidden? Looking at the Undertaker, she had to guess that yes, there was. "I don't know. This is a lot to take in."

"No, it's not." Slowly, the Undertaker extended his hand. AJ eyed it nervously as he held it out in front of her. "It is extremely simple. Are you in? Or do we find somebody else?"

Before she could respond, or do much more than stare at the Undertaker with wide eyes, Kane intervened. "No, brother. She's right. This is a lot to process. We're not… easy to work with." She thought for a second the Undertaker was ignoring him, but after a second, he withdrew his hand. "Think about it, AJ," Kane said. "We're offering you the alliance of a lifetime. With us at your side, just think of what you could do." Then he grinned. "But don't think too long. This isn't an open-ended offer."

As he spoke, Kane began to back away. The Undertaker followed his lead, both men's gazes never straying from AJ's small form as they slowly drew away. On her part, AJ was caught, completely unable to move. There was too much going on in her head, too much to think about and too much to consider. She just stood there, frozen, heart beating rapidly and body still reeling from the strange, supernatural aura both brothers exuded.

"TLC is four weeks away," Kane stated as he reached the door and pulled it open. "If we don't have your answer by then, we're going to move on. Figure it out." Then without another word or a backwards glance, both men disappeared out into the hallway.

Almost immediately, Kaitlyn appeared in the doorway. She paused there for a second, taking in the scene before her. AJ was still frozen, staring at nothing, with a look somewhere between shock and amusement on her face. "Oh my God! Are you all right?" she asked, hurrying over to AJ with a worried expression.

The sound of her friend's voice snapped AJ out of her thoughts. She shook herself lightly, like she was coming out of a trance, then looked to Kaitlyn. "What? Yeah, no, I'm fine." Then she frowned. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Kaitlyn waved off her words with a snort. "Please. I'm fine. Bit of a headache, but nothing that's going to hold me back. I figured I'd stop in tonight see how things are going. And I'm glad I did." She took a step closer and lowered her voice, speaking conspiratorially, like somebody might be listening. "I think something weird is going on around here."

_Yeah, _AJ thought, picturing Kane and the Undertaker standing in the spot currently occupied by her friend. _Definitely something weird going on._

Out loud, she said, "Oh? What's up?"

Kaitlyn shrugged her shoulders and gestured around, eyes wide. "I don't know, dude. Weird stuff. I met Roman Reigns earlier and he told me you were in here. When I got here, I tried the door, but it was locked. Wasn't opening, at all." AJ frowned at that. She didn't remember either brother locking the door. But Kaitlyn wasn't done. "I started knocking and yelling, but I don't know. It's like no sound was coming out. And it was so damn cold for some reason." She shivered involuntarily. "I must have been out there ten, twenty minutes. Did you hear me?"

"No," AJ said, eyes wide. "I didn't hear anything. What happened next?"

"It was the strangest thing. Suddenly the door just opened. I didn't touch it or anything. Just popped open. That's when I rushed in here, to make sure everything was all right." She paused and took in AJ's face again. "Are you all right? Was it just me?"

It took AJ a second to respond to that. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. The Undertaker must have been using his weird dark power or whatever to make sure they weren't disturbed. She had no idea he could even do that, but outside of him, there wasn't anybody else she could think of that was capable of anything even remotely similar to that. "Uh, no," she said, "I'm fine. I don't know what happened. I didn't hear or see anything." No reason to let on she knew anything. Clearly the brothers wanted their little conversation to remain between the three of them. "Probably nothing," she said, forcing out a little fake laugh. "You know these old buildings. Weird crap happens in them all the time."

From the look on her face, Kaitlyn wasn't convinced. But evidently the blonde had more important things to talk about, because she moved on then without any further convincing. "Yeah, you must be right. But listen…" As she trailed off, she threw an arm around AJ's shoulders and pulled the smaller Diva closer, "I heard a funny story from Roman while I was talking to him."

AJ had to fight back a sigh when she heard that. "Oh?" she asked, fully aware of what was coming.

"Yeah. He told me you beat the crap out of Layla tonight, right out there in the hallway." AJ shrugged, not admitting anything. But Kaitlyn could see the truth in her eyes. "What were you thinking, AJ? You know that bitch is just looking for an excuse to have you kicked out of the company. You can't just attack her. I'm surprised she didn't call the cops."

"Ha!" AJ let out a snort and shook her head. "She knows better than to do that. The day that happens is the day I have nothing left to lose. She knows I'd be coming for her if that ever happened."

Kaitlyn let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, all right. But still. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking," she replied, pulling out from under her friend's arm. As Kaitlyn look on, AJ began to pace, mouth twisted up in a snarl. "She started taunting me about the belt and how I'd never had it. I just lost my shit and jumped her. Next thing I know, Roman is pulling my off her and Seth Rollins is dragging Layla away before we can tear each other to shreds." She shrugged. "You know me, Kaitlyn. Sometimes… sometimes I just lose it. It's who I am."

For a moment after that, neither woman said a word. Then Kaitlyn grinned. "Yeah, I guess it is. But next time, wait until I'm around. I want to get my shot in too."

The two friends shared a laugh at that. "So what do you think?" Kaitlyn asked a moment later. "Want to get out of here before Layla comes around again? I really don't want to see her face tonight. Pretty sure my little headache will explode into a full-blown migraine just at the sight of her."

"No kidding." AJ contemplated it for a second, then shrugged. "Let's go get a drink. I could use a night to unwind." And more importantly, she knew she'd need a distraction or she'd spend the entire night thinking over her encounter with the Brother's of Destruction.

"Sounds good to me," Kaitlyn said, making her way over to the door.

As AJ trailed after her friend, she paused in the doorway and turned to look back into the room. Her eyes were drawn to the spot where Kane and the Undertaker stood earlier. For a second she just stood there, frozen, and stared at it. Unbidden, Kane's voice flashed through her mind again.

_You are the best Diva in this company._

_I've seen you do things in the ring that none of the others can do_

_You deserve to have the title._

With a little smile on her face, she turned and followed Kaitlyn's path down the hallway.


End file.
